Fatima Statue Due at Vatican to Mark a Fateful Day 25 Years After Attempt on John Paul II's Life

VATICAN CITY, MAY 9, 2006 (Zenit.org).- A statue of Our Lady of Fatima will return to the Vatican this Saturday, 25 years after the attempt on Pope John Paul II's life.

The statue will gather some 20,000 pilgrims, part of a program organized by the Roman Work of Pilgrimages, an institution of the Vicariate of Rome, an entity of the Holy See. It will mark the second such Pilgrims' Day.

The event will recall the "indissoluble bond" between "Pope Karol Wojtyla and the Virgin Mary," explained the Roman Work of Pilgrimages in a communiqué sent to ZENIT. "John Paul II said: 'One hand pulled the trigger; another hand deflected the bullet.'"

It added: "It is extraordinary that John Paul II wished to give one of the bullets fired by Ali Agca to the Virgin of Fatima and that that bullet would be perfectly set in the Virgin's crown, as if it had been designed for it."

The statue of Our Lady will arrive by helicopter on Saturday afternoon at Castel Sant'Angelo.

From there, pilgrims led by Cardinal Ivan Dias of Bombay will receive the statue and carry it in procession on the Via della Conciliazione to St. Peter's Basilica.

On crossing St. Peter's Square, the procession will pause at the spot where John Paul II shed his blood as he fell, victim of the assassination attempt.

Cardinal Camillo Ruini, president of the Roman Work of Pilgrimages and the Pope's vicar for Rome, will then preside over Mass in St. Peter's Basilica. Afterward, a celebration complete with fireworks will take place in St. Peter's Square in honor of John Paul II.

The Fatima Statue was at my church yesterday. Both the Mass at noon and our Stations in the evening were fairly packed. One of the custodians of the Traveling Statue of Our Lady of Fatima spoke both times. I learned so much about praying for peace. Will post a couple of threads on the brown scapular and First Saturdays in the next post.

It's time for all of us to pray for peace and start going to Mass and fulfilling the other obligations on First Saturdays.

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We are only a couple months away from the 90th Anniversary of the Apparitions. The 100th Anniversary will be upon us before you know it...

We are definitely in the period of peace as foretold.

But the apparitions at the Cova de Ira (Cove of Irene -- the name Irene means Peace) warned of World War II. The village name may warn of a future war -- the fact the village was named after the daughter of the prophet Mohammed -- in other words, possibly a future war with Moslems...

Let us just hope we can extend the period of peace as long as possible.

Iran, along with Pakistan, are nuclear powers. Israel and India are also nuclear powers. So it might be possible in the middle part of the 21st Century to see a nuclear war erupt in the Middle East...

As Blessed Francesco did, we need to pray many, many rosaries...

6
posted on 03/20/2007 8:18:12 PM PDT
by topher
(Let us return to old-fashioned morality - morality that has stood the test of time...)

October 13, 1884 - Pope Leo XIII falls into a trance after morning low Mass hearing a conversation between Satan and God predicting the 100 years war on the Church (the 20th Century?). This is 33 years (the life of Jesus) to the day before the Miracle of the Sun Dancing at Fatima (October 13, 1917).

May 13, 1981 - this is the day of the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II. A few months earlier, President Reagan is also shot. Note that this is a play on the first anniversary of the apparition of Fatima - May 13, 1918 versus May 13, 1981. Maybe this is God's way of confirming that Pope John Paul II is the Pope of the 3rd part of the secret. (The reverse of the last two digits of the year -- 18 versus 81. This was also how the book titled 1984 got its name -- the reverse of the year it was written -- 1948...)

7
posted on 03/20/2007 8:25:24 PM PDT
by topher
(Let us return to old-fashioned morality - morality that has stood the test of time...)

**Note that this is a play on the first anniversary of the apparition of Fatima - May 13, 1918 versus May 13, 1981. Maybe this is God's way of confirming that Pope John Paul II is the Pope of the 3rd part of the secret. **

An interesting fact of which I was not aware.

Pray the Rosary. Go to Mass on the First Saturdays. Performs acts of reparation for those who do not believe and are probably bound for hell.

Having the Statue of Our Lady of Fatima at our Church was an eye-opener for me.

However, I was able to go to the Blue Army Shrine in Washington, New Jersey last Memorial Day weekend.

During the short time in New York (less than two years), I was able to visit the National Shrine to Padre Pio.

However, when I do make noon Mass here in Louisiana, there are some interesting relics in the Church that I visit (after Mass) -- Saint Ann, Saint Martha, Saint Philomena, Saint John the Evangelist, Saint Margaret Mary (Sacred Heart), and so on. The relics are quite a who's who...

The church does recite the Angelus just before Mass...

9
posted on 03/22/2007 10:18:37 PM PDT
by topher
(Let us return to old-fashioned morality - morality that has stood the test of time...)

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